It’s throwback Thursday, which means we can officially wax nostalgic about things that happened in the past. Take historic, vintage employee handbooks, for instance.
Most people today are well-acquainted with the employee handbook. This document, which contains all of the guidelines and policies related to a particular workplace, is pretty standard nowadays as a method of communication.
Today’s employee handbooks contain lots of official sounding terms and “legalese” to ensure compliance with company rules. In the past, however, some companies chose to communicate their company policies in a more casual style.
For example, way back in 1943, Walt Disney’s personnel department published an employee handbook called The Ropes at Disney. This handbook had several purposes. It was a communication piece meant to eliminate employee confusion and improve organization while representing Disney as an “informal, reverent, fun employer” that wanted to maintain a friendly relationship between the company and its employees.
As it says in the introduction:
“This book is intended merely to be in the nature of a pointer. It will tip you off as to what goes . . . and what doesn’t. If you unwittingly slip off the beam, it will give you a painless nudge in the right direction.”
Just some casual, friendly advice.
The Ropes at Disney featured lots of fun, cartoon-style drawings (although, could you really expect anything less from Disney?) to encourage the casual employer image. Check out a few of the pages while also noting the rope weaving through each section, which nicely reflects the title.
Entertaining and informative. The best of both worlds.
We’ve come a long way from the days of Disney’s war-time employee handbook. Instead of relying on a single printed document, communication professionals now have the advantage of digital devices to help communicate important messages to employees.
And though the style of employee handbooks changed, the need to communicate important information remains the same. By staying ahead of the technological curve, HR departments can master effective internal communication using a much wider selection of tools than Disney had available in 1943 . . . although adding a few cartoons probably wouldn't hurt.
Source: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/09/29/the-ropes-at-disney-1943-employee-handbook/
